Air blown assisted data transmission cables installation system and methods

ABSTRACT

Data cable installation system for pre-existing facilities includes a cable managing housing, a compressed air connection associated with the housing and a compressed air pressure directing chamber formed within the housing. A cable directing tube also associated with the system includes a cable receiving port extending through the cable managing housing past the compressed air pressure directing chamber into a data conduit interface. The data conduit interface is associated with the cable directing tube and has a larger diameter than the cable directing tube adapted to form a sealed connection with a data conduit having a diameter similar to the data conduit interface. During use, data cable is passed trough the data conduit when it is first inserted into the cable receiving port and manually feed into the cable managing housing. The air directing chamber causes compressed air pressure to assist movement of the data cable into the data conduit through the cable directing tube.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST

The United States government has certain rights to the present disclosure in accordance with contract DE-AC02-76CH03000 with the U.S. Department of Energy.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally related to data transmission cable installation systems and methods. More particularly, the present invention is related to air blown data transmission cable installation using a cable handling unit that is adaptable to cable carrying and storage tubing.

BACKGROUND

Computer technology has breaking barriers to inter-personal communications at an amazing rate. Already, it is possible to communicate almost instantaneously with anyone in the world that has a computer and a telephone line. Computer networks, such as the Internet, link individuals and various types of organizations in world-wide digital communication.

The Internet has almost unlimited promise for communications advances, but is becoming limited by an overburdened and somewhat unsuited transmission medium. Several barriers exist to filling the gap between current limited coverage networks and the Internet. One such barrier is the “last mile” dilemma. That is, the Internet runs at very high speeds over its backbone, but slows down considerably over its localized connections. Generally, the Internet relies upon standard telecommunications industry lines and switching equipment for this last mile. This infrastructure is designed for telephone communications, and is not well adapted to the packetized communications of digital networks. A dilemma lies, however, in replacing the telephone infrastructure with transmission mediums more suited to digital communications.

It is currently considered prohibitively expensive to connect high speed communications lines down to the individual users of the Internet. Fiber optics provide extensive bandwidth and speed to users fortunate to have access to this data transmission medium. Although fiber optic cables have been installed throughout most metropolitan areas, its direct access remains to be realized for most users. Copper wiring is still the primary medium used to carry data from fiber optic access points into facilities and residences.

In addition to bandwidth issues associated with accessing the Internet, businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, and other similarly related entities also rely on adequate bandwidth to communicate over much smaller-scale networks, such as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). These small-scale networks, particularly LANS, operate at much higher speeds than the Internet, but are expensive to operate at large scales because of the costs associated with installing high speed fiber optic cabling throughout an enterprise.

Thus, a large gap exists, between the scope of coverage and speed of operation of the global, but relatively slow, Internet and the faster but more limited LANs and WANs. It would therefore be advantageous to close this gap with larger-scale networks that operate at speeds close to that of LANS and also improve the bandwidth between users and LANS through broader and easier deployment of fiber optic lines.

Fish tape is a tool known in the electrical and communications trades as generally being an elongate, flexible tape, or messenger, intended to draw electrical wires, optical cables and the like through tubular conduits emplaced in the walls of buildings. The fish tape, which may be supplied in lengths of up to 200 feet, is advanced through conduits, i.e., from a first junction box to a second remote junction box. The fish tape includes at its rear end portion a holding means for securing wire or cable to be emplaced, i.e., a hook swivel or the like, and at its front end portion, some type of blunt or rounded end. After the wire or cable is secured to the holding means at the rear free end of the tape, the tape is withdrawn carrying with it the wire whereby the wire is disposed in the desired connecting relation between the junction boxes. Conventional fish tapes have been made of a variety of materials. These materials must meet a wide range of service characteristics including high tensile strength, high flexibility enabling the lead end to travel, and the body of the tape to bend, about obstructions and resistance to buckling when a pushing force is exerted on a tape.

Difficulty is experienced in the process of running wires and data transmission cables such as fiber optic cables by conventional tape means because of friction that can occur between the fish tape line and the inner surfaces of conduit. It has been proposed to reduce stress during the pulling of cable through conduit, especially when installing fiber optic data transmission cables, which are far more fragile than conventional wires, by injecting a liquid into the duct line, thereby reducing the friction encountered during feed. The problem with this proposed solution resides in the fact that the lubricating fluid must be removed after cable emplacement and the conduit completely and carefully dried. (see EP 4445622 and EP 665993). This is clearly a time consuming and costly procedure.

In EP 620627, it was first proposed to utilize compressed air as a conveying medium for communication cables within conduits. This method is said to reduce the buildup of a static charge in the conduit. However, the method can result in driving conducting dust provided on purpose through a T-branch and drop cylinder to various junction boxes and amongst existing electrical cabling and components. The method also does not effectively enable air blown cable delivery in existing conduits that are not typically air-tight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present inventor realized that a simplified method and system of delivery data cable such as fiber optics was not available for applications where short and limited cable runs are required for existing facilities requiring data communications upgrading, or for residential and small business applications. Existing facilities that do have existing electrical conduit containing copper data wiring (e.g., Cat-5 cable) are not typically air tight because of the existence of junction boxes along the conduit. The present inventor realized what is needed is a simple, inexpensive way to install data cable, and particularly fragile fiber optic cabling, in existing facilities where the run is not extensive (e.g., g less than 500 feet).

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a cable managing housing including a compressed air connection and having an air pressure directing chamber formed therein. A cable directing tube includes a cable receiving port and extends through the inside of the cable managing housing past the air pressure directing chamber into a data conduit interface, which has a larger diameter than the cable directing tube and is adapted to form a sealed connection with a data conduit having a diameter similar to the data conduit interface.

It is another feature of the present invention that the data conduit interface be adapted to interface with flexible plastic data conduit bearing a diameter from 5/16 inch to ¼ inch internal diameters.

It is yet another feature of the present invention that the cable directing tube is adapted to enable manual feeding of data cable into the cable directing tube into the flexible plastic data conduit under compressed air assistance provided by a compressed air source provided through the air pressure directing chamber.

It is yet another feature of the present invention that the flexible plastic data conduit be pre-installed within existing electrical conduit for simplifying installation of data cable.

It is yet another feature of the present invention that the flexible plastic data conduit be pre-installed in an existing conduit using fish tape to pull the plastic data conduit through existing conduit.

It is yet another feature of the present invention that the flexible plastic data conduit be pre-installed in an existing facility within concealed voids such as walls, crawl spaces and attics associated with the existing facility.

It is yet one more feature of the present invention that fish tape is used to pull the plastic data conduit through concealed voids such as walls, crawl spaces and attics associated with the existing facilities.

In accordance with the present invention, a data cable installation system for pre-existing facilities includes a cable managing housing, a compressed air connection associated with the housing and a compressed air pressure directing chamber formed within the housing. A cable directing tube also associated with the system includes a cable receiving port extending through the cable managing housing past the compressed air pressure directing chamber into a data conduit interface. The data conduit interface is associated with the cable directing tube and has a larger diameter than the cable directing tube adapted to form a sealed connection with a data conduit having a diameter similar to the data conduit interface. During use, data cable is passed trough the data conduit when it is first inserted into the cable receiving port and manually feed into the cable managing housing. The air directing chamber causes compressed air pressure to assist movement of the data cable into the data conduit through the cable directing tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the air blown data transmission cable installation system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the interconnection of air blown data transmission cable installation system of the present invention with flexible plastic data conduit.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of using the air blown data transmission cable installation system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an installation environment wherein flexible plastic conduit has been pre-installed within existing electrical conduit for subsequent installation of fiber optic cable within the flexible data conduit using the air blown data transmission cable installation system of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an installation environment wherein flexible plastic conduit has been pre-installed within voids available throughout an pre-existing building prior to installation of fiber optic cable within the flexible data conduit using the air blown data transmission cable installation system of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Described are methods and systems for installing data cable such as fiber optics where short and limited cable runs are required for data cable installations within existing facilities requiring data communications upgrading, or for residential and small business applications.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cable managing housing 101 includes a compressed air connection 110 and has an air pressure directing chamber 115 formed within the cable managing housing 101. A cable directing tube 120 is provided that includes a cable receiving port 125 and extends through the inside of the cable managing housing 101 past the air pressure directing chamber 115 into a data conduit interface 130, which has a larger diameter than the cable directing tube 120 and is adapted to form a air-sealed connection 135 with a data conduit 140 which can have a diameter similar to that of the data conduit interface 130.

The cable directing tube 120 is adapted to enable manual feeding of data cable 150 into the cable directing tube 120 and eventually into the flexible plastic data conduit 140. Delivery is provided through the cable directing tube 120 and data conduit interface 130 under compressed air assistance provided by a regulated compressed air source 160 via the air pressure directing chamber 115. Air pressure can be regulated using adjustable valves and regulators known in the art. A valve located near the cable managing housing 101 will enable a user/installer to make fine air pressure adjustments during fiber installment.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is another feature of the present invention that the data conduit interface 130 be adapted to interface with flexible plastic data conduit 140 bearing an internal diameter of at least ⅛ inch, or an internal diameter that is larger than the overall thickness of the data cable being installed. The internal diameter, however, will typically start at about ¼ inch up to about ½ inch. Such flexible plastic data conduit 140 can include, for example, residential appliance waterline tubing similar to that used for icemakers as associated with refrigerator-freezers.

It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide methods for installing data cable. Referring to FIG. 3, a block diagram 300 is illustrated that shows steps of a method for installing data cable in pre-existing facilities using the present invention. As shown in block 310, flexible plastic conduit is installed within pre-existing voids located within a facility between optical interfaces associated with data equipment. I can be appreciated that the voids can take the form of voids in walls between rooms, attic space, basement and crawl spaces, above drop ceilings in commercial buildings, and in space between floors in multistory buildings such as commercial office buildings. The pre-existing voids can also take the form of standard electrical conduit of varying diameters that has been, or is currently, in use to carry cabling and power throughout a facility. Referring to block 320, the data cable interface associated with the cable directing tube of the air blown data transmission cable installation system is physically coupled to one end of the flexible plastic conduit. The coupling should be done in a manner that allows data cable passing through the system to easily pass through the cable directing tube into and through the flexible plastic conduit. The flexible plastic conduit should have an internal diameter that is at least one of: larger than the total diameter of the data cable and/or no smaller than the internal diameter of the cable directing tube. Referring to block 330, data cable is manually feed into the air blown data transmission cable installation system while the air blown data transmission cable installation system is receiving compressed air directed through the air blown data transmission cable installation system through the cable directing tube into the flexible plastic conduit. The data cable is assisted through the flexible plastic conduit while it is manually fed through the air blown data transmission cable installation system because of the compressed air being directed through air blown data transmission cable installation system, the cable directing tube and into the flexible plastic conduit.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is also another feature of the present invention that the flexible plastic data conduit 410 be pre-installed within existing electrical conduit 420 for simplifying installation of data cable 405. It should be appreciated that the flexible plastic data conduit 410 be pre-installed in an existing conduit using fish tape to pull the plastic data conduit through existing conduit. Once installed, the present invention can be used to install data cable 405 within the flexible plastic data conduit 410 between two optical data transmission/receive points, A and B.

Referring to FIG. 5, it is yet another feature of the present invention that the flexible plastic data conduit 510 be pre-installed in an existing facility 500 within concealed voids such as those found in walls 520, crawl spaces 530 and attics 540 in residential building, and within the space located above drop-ceiling 550, or beneath floors 560 of a residential or commercial building. It should be appreciated that fish tape can be used to pull the plastic data conduit through tightly spaced concealed voids. Once installed, the present invention can be used to install data cable (not shown) within the flexible plastic data conduit 510 between two optical data transmission/receive points, A and B.

It should be appreciated by the skilled after reading the disclosure and reviewing the drawings that more than one fiber can be installed at one time using the present invention. Referring back to FIG. 1, more than one fiber 150 can be simultaneously inserted into the cable directing tube 120 so long as it is provided with a large enough diameter, including the diameter of the cable receiving port 125 into the cable directing tube 120 and extending inside the tube 120 through the inside of the cable managing housing 101 past the air pressure directing chamber 115 into a data conduit interface 130. It can also be appreciated fro the teachings contained herein, that a device can be devised that has more than one cable directing tube and associated receiving port feeding into a housing 101 for air-assisted movement into a conduit 140. 

1. A data cable installation system for pre-existing facilities, comprising: a cable managing housing including a compressed air connection and having a compressed air pressure directing chamber formed therein; at least one cable directing tube including at least one cable receiving port, said at least one cable directing tube extending through the cable managing housing past the compressed air pressure directing chamber into a data conduit interface; and a data conduit interface having a larger diameter than the cable directing tube and adapted to form a sealed connection with a data conduit having a diameter similar to the data conduit interface; wherein data cable is passed trough the data conduit when it is first inserted into the cable receiving port and manually feed into the cable managing housing wherein the air directing chamber causes compressed air pressure to assist movement of the data cable into the data conduit through the cable directing tube.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data conduit interface is adapted to interface with flexible plastic data conduit bearing an internal diameter of at least ⅛ inch.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data conduit interface is adapted to interface with flexible plastic data conduit bearing an internal diameter of less than ½ inch.
 4. The system of claim 1 further comprising a compressed air source coupled to the cable managing housing providing compressed air to the air pressure directing chamber.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the data conduit interface is adapted to interface with flexible plastic data conduit bearing an internal diameter of less than ½ inch and at least ⅛ inch.
 6. A method for installing data cable in a pre-existing environment, comprising the steps of: install flexible plastic conduit within concealed voids of the pre-existing environment between optical interfaces associated with data equipment; couple the data cable interface associated with a cable directing tube of an air blown data transmission cable installation system to one end of the flexible plastic conduit; manually feed a data cable into the air blown data transmission cable installation system while the air blown data transmission cable installation system is receiving compressed air directed through the air blown data transmission cable installation system through the cable directing tube into the flexible plastic conduit; wherein the data cable is assisted through the flexible plastic conduit while it is manually fed through the air blown data transmission cable installation system because of the compressed air being directed through air blown data transmission cable installation system, the cable directing tube and into the flexible plastic conduit.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the flexible plastic conduit is installed within concealed voids of the pre-existing environment between optical interfaces associated with data equipment using a fish tape, wherein the fish tape is used to pull the plastic data conduit through the concealed voids.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein the concealed voids of the pre-existing environment are the inner tubal passages of pre-existing electrical conduit.
 9. The method of claim 6 wherein the flexible plastic data conduit is installed in an existing facility and wherein the concealed voids include at least one of: spaces within walls, crawl space, and attics associated with a pre-existing environment.
 10. The method of claim 6 wherein the pre-existing environment is electrical conduit existing within a facility.
 11. The method of claim 6 wherein the pre-existing environment is electrical conduit existing between a facility and pre-existing optical data transmission equipment.
 12. The method of claim 6 wherein the pre-existing environment is electrical conduit existing between a facility and pre-existing optical data transmission equipment.
 13. The system of claim 6, wherein the data conduit interface is adapted to interface with flexible plastic data conduit bearing a larger internal diameter than the outer diameter of the data cable.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the flexible plastic data conduit has at least a ¼ inch internal diameter.
 15. A method for installing data cable in a pre-existing environment, comprising the steps of: install flexible plastic conduit within pre-existing electrical conduit located between optical interfaces associated with data equipment; couple the data cable interface associated with a cable directing tube of an air blown data transmission cable installation system to one end of the flexible plastic conduit; manually feed a data cable into the air blown data transmission cable installation system while the air blown data transmission cable installation system is receiving compressed air directed through the air blown data transmission cable installation system through the cable directing tube into the flexible plastic conduit; wherein the data cable is assisted through the flexible plastic conduit while it is manually fed through the air blown data transmission cable installation system because of the compressed air being directed through air blown data transmission cable installation system, the cable directing tube and into the flexible plastic conduit.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the flexible plastic conduit is installed within the pre-electrical conduit using a fish tape, wherein the fish tape is used to pull the plastic data conduit through the pre-existing electrical conduit.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the concealed voids of the pre-existing environment are the inner tubal passages of pre-existing electrical conduit. 